UNB, UPEI meet again

By THE CHRONICLE HERALDPublished February 19, 2013 - 11:27pm

For a second straight year, the UNB Varsity Reds and UPEI Panthers will meet in an AUHC semifinal.

The CIS No. 1 Varsity Reds, who had a quarter–final bye, host Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-five series Thursday and Friday in Fredericton before the semifinal switches to Charlottetown for Game 3 next Monday.

UNB, which swept UPEI in last season’s semifinal, closed the 2012-13 regular season with eight straight victories and finished with a 23-5-0 record. The Varsity Reds led the conference in goals scored (111) and fewest allowed (59).

UPEI, out of the playoff picture at the Christmas break, started the new year with five straight wins and won eight out of nine to start 2013. The Panthers’ only blemish during that stretch was a 3-2 overtime loss to UNB on Jan. 18. They beat the St. Francis Xavier X-Men 2-0 in last week’s best-of-three quarter-final.